Folding or collapsible furniture



Oct. 4, 1955 Filed Jan. 25, 1954 R. SMITH FOLDING OR COLLAPSIBLE FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 4., 1955 R. SMITH FOLDING OR COLLAFSIBLE FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 25, 1954 United States Patent 2,719,575 FOLDING OR COLLAPSIBLE FURNITURE Reginald Smith, Pntney, London, England Application January 25, 1954, Serial No. 405,869

(llaims priority, application Great Britain January 30, 1953 7 Claims. (Cl. 155-148) This invention relates to improvements in folding or collapsible furniture and is particularly, although not exclusively, concerned with the construction of a so-called babys high chair. Hitherto such furniture has been unnecessarily heavy and complicated in construction and even in the case where it is designed to be folded or collapsed still occupies in the collapsed state a greater space than can easily be provided in the modern small home.

The present invention has for an object the provision of an improved folding construction which enables an article of furniture to be folded when not in use so that it occupies a very small space and when erected is very rigid, and yet light in weight.

According to the invention the improved article of furniture comprises two frames connected together by two pairs of oppositely directed stays which are hinged at their points of connection with the frames, the stays of one pair being also hinged intermediate their ends, and a member hingedly connected with the upper part of one frame and adapted to be secured with the upper part of the other frame when the article is erect whereby to lock the assembly rigidly in its erected position.

The improved article of furniture of this invention may be constructed wholly of wood or partly of wood and partly of metal, or if desired wholly of metal, appropriate changes in construction being made to suit the material used.

An article of furniture according to the invention and which is constructed mainly of wood is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a babys high chair,

Figure 2 is a section on the lines II--II of Figure 1,

Figures 3 to 5 show in side elevation the chair in various stages as it is being collapsed, and

Figures 6 and 7 show, on a larger scale, a side and rear elevation of a detail.

The chair illustrated comprises front and rear frames each consisting of two uprights 10, 11 and two or more cross members 12, both frames tapering somewhat towards their upper ends. The frames are connected together by two pairs of stays 13, 14, one pair 13 extending upwardly and rearwardly from the lower end of the front frame to the upper end of the rear frame 11 and the other, 14, extending slightly upwardly and forwardly from the lower part of the rear frame 11 to a point somewhat below the centre of the front frame 10. This pair of stays 14 are formed as joint stays, being hinged intermediate their ends so that by lifting the hinge points upwards the two frames may be collapsed together.

A seat 15 is hinged at its front end with a point on the front frame 10, at. a convenient height from the ground when the chair is in erect position, in such a way that, in the collapsed state, the seat may lie parallel with this frame and between its uprights. When erected the seat 15 is arranged at its rear end to engage the upper cross member 16 of the rear frame 11, the under face of the seat resting on this cross member 16 and being provided at its extreme rear end with a downwardly projecting part 17 which engages the rear face of the cross member 16. The rear corners of the seat are cut away to provide recesses into which the upper ends of the respective uprights of the rear frame fit. Accordingly, when the two frames are arranged in their erect position and the seat dropped to engage the rear frame as described, the seat assembly is locked rigidly in position.

'The back rest 19, which comprises a further frame having suitable uprights and cross members, is hinged at the lower ends of its uprights with the upper ends of the rear frame uprights in such manner that it can be swung rearwardly and downwardly in the collapsed state of the chair to lie behind the rear frame. When erected, the back rest is so arranged that its lowest cross member 20 lies over the back end of the seat assembly 15, thus locking the seat in position. The back rest 19 is held in erect position by arms 22 which are hinged at their ends with points intermediate the ends of the uprights of the back rest 19 and are provided with means whereby they may be locked with the upper ends of the front frame uprights 10 so as to secure the back rest rigidly in the erect position.

The arms may be used as supports for a feeding tray 21 which, as shown in the drawings, may be secured therewith. Alternatively the arms may be lengthenedv to form the sides of such feeding tray. In a further alternative the feeding tray may be detachably mounted on the arms.

The chair may also be provided with a foot rest, not shown, which in one convenient form may be hung between two members which are hinged at their upper ends with the front frame uprights 10 either at the points of attachment of the seat assembly or somewhat below these points. The foot rest may be hinged with the two members so that it can be folded up when the chair is collapsed and provided with a hinged stay which locates on one of the front frame cross members to hold the foot rest in desired position.

To fold the chair, the arms are unlocked and, with or without the tray, swung over to hang behind the rear frame 11, the back rest 19 is likewise swung back to hang down behind the rear frame 11 when the seat 15 can be lifted away from its engagement with the rear frame 11 and allowed to drop between the frames which then by lifting the hinge points of the one pair of stays 14 can be collapsed together.

The sequence of movement into the collapsed position is shown in Figures 3 to 5 except that while the seat 15 is shown in Figure 3 as lifted from engagement with the rear frame 11, this could not have been done unless 'the back rest 19 had previously been swung back further than is shown in this figure. When finally collapsed, the chair as shown in Figure 5 has a very small depth, approximately that represented by the total thickness of the front and rear frame uprights 10, 1-1, the back rest 19, and the tray arm 22, say a total of five inches.

One suitable form of locking device for securing the arms with the top of the front frame is indicated in Figures 1-5 and is shown more clearly in Figures 6 and 7. It comprises a lever 25 which is pivotally mounted on the inside face of the arm 22 by means of a screw 26. In the position shown inFigure 6, the lever hangs downwardly, resting on a stirrup 27 and a slot 28 formed in the lever engages a projection 29 mounted on the outer side face of the upright 10 of the front frame. The shape of the slot is' such that the lever 25 cannot be disengaged from the projection merely by attempting to lift the tray unless at the same time the free end of the lever is lifted towards the tray. However, when the tray is dropped down on the top of the front frame uprights 10 the engagement of the projection 29 with the underside 30 of the lever 25 will cause the lever to lift to allow the projection to pass into the slot when the lever will drop to lock the arms with the front frame. The locking of tray to frame is thus quite automatic but unlocking can only be effected by lifting the two levers together and this can be made too diflicult for a small child to do.

Other forms of locking devices, which are preferably self-locating, may be used. Thus the arms may be located and held in position on the top of the front frame by means of thumb screws and slotted plates or by means of spring clips which are fastened to the arms and engage the upper parts of the frame. Locking may alternatively be effected by means of spring-pressed latch pins mounted on the arms and engaging recesses in the frame uprights or other convenient part. Such pins may be connected by wires running in the thickness of the tray to a suitable operating device arranged at the front of the tray where it cannot easily be reached by a child seated in the chair.

It will be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to other articles of furniture such for example as a stool which would be constructed in a manner similar to that shown in the drawings except for the omission of that part of the structure extending above the seat 15.

It will also be appreciated that the chair shown in the drawings may be provided with the back rest and/ or the seat suitably padded or upholstered. Similarly, in the case of a stool, the seat portion may be treated in this way.

What I claim is:

1. An article of furniture which may be folded between an erect and a collapsed position, comprising a front and a rear frame, a first pair of stays hingedly connected between the lower part of the front frame and the upper part of the rear frame, a second pair of stays hingedly connected between the front frame and the lower part of the rear frame, said second pair of stays being formed each with a hinge intermediate its ends, and means engaging the upper parts of both the front and rear frames to maintain these parts in rigid spaced relationship when the article is in erect position.

2. An article of furniture which may be folded between an erect and a collapsed position, comprising a front and a rear frame, a first pair of stays hingedly connected between the lower part of the front frame and the upper part of the rear frame, a second pair of stays hingedly connected between the front frame and the lower part of the rear frame, said second pair of stays being formed each with a hinge intermediate its ends, and a member pivotally connected with the upper part of one frame and adapted to engage the upper part of the other frame when the article is in erect position.

3. An article of furniture which may be folded be-' tween an erect and a collapsed position, comprising a front and a rear frame, each frame comprising two side members and at least two cross members, a first pair of stays hingedly connected between the lower part of the side members of the front frame and the upper part of the side members of the rear frame, a second pair of stays hingedly connected between a point intermediate the ends of the side members of the front frame and the upper part of the side members of the rear frame, said second pair of stays being hinged intermediate their ends, and a member hingedly connected with the upper part of one frame and adapted to engage the upper part of the other frame when the article is in erect position to lock the said upper parts in rigid spaced relationship.

4. An article of furniture which may be folded between an erect and a collapsed position, comprising a front frame, a rear frame, two pairs of oppositely directed stays connecting said front frame with said rear frame, one of said pairs of stays being hinged intermediate its ends, a seat member hinged at its front end with the upper part of said front frame and adapted to engage at its rear end with the upper part of said rear frame.

5. An article of furniture which may be folded between an erect and a collapsed position, comprising a front frame, a rear frame shorter than said front frame, a first pair of stays extending upwardly between the lower part of said front frame and the upper part of of said rear frame, a second pair of stays extending downwardly between the front frame and the said rear frame, said second pair of stays each being hinged intermediate their ends, a seat member hinged at its front end with the upper part of said front frame and adapted to engage the upper end of said rear frame when the article is in erect position, a back rest hingedly connected with the upper end of said rear frame and adapted when the article is in erect position to engage the upper surface of the rear end of the seat member to lock said seat member with the rear frame, and means for holding the back rest in erect position including members which are pivotably connected at their rear ends with the back rest and are adapted to be locked at their front ends with the upper part of the front frame.-

6. An article of furniture which may be folded between an erect and a collapsed position, comprising a front frame, a rear frame shorter than said front frame, two pairs of oppositely directed stays connecting said front frame with said rear frame, the stays of one of said pairs of stays being each hinged intermediate their ends, a seat member hinged at its front end with a part of said front frame below the upper end thereof and adapted when the article is erect to engage the upper end of said rear frame, a back rest hinged at its lower end with the upper end of said rear frame and adapted when erect to engage the seat member between its lower ends and the upper end of the rear frame, and side arms pivotably connected between the sides of the back rest at their rear ends and adapted to be locked with the upper end of the front frame near their front ends.

7. An article of furniture which may be folded between an erect and a collapsed position, comprising a front frame and a rear frame, each comprising side members and two or more cross members, a first pair of stays extending rearwardly and upwardly between the side members of the front frame and the side members of the rear frame, a second pair of stays extending rearwardly and downwardly between the side members of the front frame and the side members of the rear frame, said second pair of stays being constructed as joint stays which break if lifted upwards at their hinge points, and a member pivotally connected at its front end with the side members of the front frame and adapted at its rear end to engage the upper cross member of the rear frame so that when the article is in erect position the upper parts of the said two frames are locked in spaced relationship.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 255,215 Tuttle Mar. 21, 1882v 1,241,907 Bernard Oct. 2, 1917- 1,301,877 Riemenschneider Apr. 29, 1919 1,716,466 Sims June 11, 1929 1,730,895 Ness Oct. 8, 1929 2,131,722 Arthur Oct. 4, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 667,881 France Oct. 24, 1924 

